Under the watchful eyes of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia, the Philippine Olympic Committee will continue the process of selecting at least four new leaders before the month is up.
And there will be full compliance to the wishes of the IOC and OCA as the POC holds elections by July 28.
POC chairman Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said this after receiving a copy of a two-page letter from the IOC and the OCA which recognizes the resignation of Victorico Vargas as POC President and Tolentino as chairman.
Observers from the IOC and OCA will be around when the General Assembly first convenes on July 18 to approve the appointment of the members of the election commission.
These observers will also be present when the General Assembly finally holds it polls by July 28.
“I would like to defer to the wishes of the IOC and OCA in my desire to settle the issue facing the POC as soon as possible,” said Tolentino during a gathering yesterday at the Golden Bay Restaurant in Pasay City.
Tolentino said that while he stays on in a holdover capacity, he believes that there is no rightful successor yet to Ricky Vargas, who resigned last June 18.
So far, only four positions will be disputed since Tolentino, Vargas, board members Cynthia Carrion of gymnastics and Clint Aranas are the only ones who are confirmed to have submitted their written letters of resignations.
“It might be noted that there are three other board members who resigned. But they have so far not confirmed it in writing,” added Tolentino, who is planning to seek the presidency of the POC.
The POC will start addressing this issue when it holds a special board meeting on July 8.
From there, the executive board will take steps to fill in the vacancies and prepare to have polls and make way for an extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly on July 18.
The meeting on July 18, which will be held in the presence of an IOC/OCA representative, will be the time when those who will seek elective posts in POC can be ratified.
Later, the president of the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines raised many questions on how the executive board is running the show, since Joey Romasanta stepped in as acting POC president.
“As far as the bylaws is concerned, we don’t have a successor to Mr. Vargas yet,” said Tolentino.
Tolentino has questioned Romasanta’s position as acting president. And that’s because there is no such position in the POC constitution and bylaws.
The resignation of four POC officials was acknowledged last July 2, in a 2-page letter signed by IOC director for Olympic Solidarity and National Olympic Committee Relations James Macleod and OCA director general Hussain al-Musallam.
Macleod and al-Musallam has asked the POC to “follow due process to avoid any further challenges and hold free and fair elections for (the) vacant positions.”
The resignations of top POC officials was sparked by questions raised by the POC Board against the eligibility of the Phisgoc Foundation, led by Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano.
